Dark Steel
by transfan80
Summary: The Power Rangers find themselves battling clones of the Dinozords, and Tommy begins to question how much he's really needed. Please r&r if you enjoy the story.
1. The Beginning of a Nightmare

Disclaimer: I, no matter how much I'd like to, have no claim to the Power Rangers. They are the property of Buena Vista Entertainment. 

This is my first ever PR fic. It's an idea I've had for some time now and that I actually started to tell before. It takes place shortly after the MMPR episode "Return of an Old Friend". The Zord against Zord idea may have been done before, but I thought I'd try it anyway. 

Please R&R, and if you have to show criticism, please make it the constructive kind. 

Enough talk-here's the first chapter. 

The mountains just outside of Angel Grove, California were, on any other day, a quiet, idyllic sitting. Anyone looking for a little solitude could climb them and sit on the summit, listening to the birds and taking in the beautiful scenery from the mountaintop. 

This, however, would turn out to be less than a normal day. Two giant warriors, one of them monkey-like with a suit of gold armor, the other a robot made of five smaller robots, clashed in battle as they had so many times before. In the robot's cockpit sat five teenagers, clad in multi-colored battle suits and helmets-the Power Rangers.

Jason Lee Scott, the red ranger and team leader, focused on their opponent. Goldar stared them down, gazing into the cockpit of their giant fighting machine, the Megazord. With a sudden slashing motion, he brought the blade of his sword down on the Megazord's chest, bringing forth a shower of sparks. The giant machine countered with a punch with the weight of fifty wrecking balls, sending Goldar sprawling backward.

"Billy, how are the shields holding up?" Jason asked the teammate to his immediate right.

Billy Cranston, the blue ranger, checked his control panel. "91 percent and holding", he responded. "The best we've ever done against Goldar."

"Old monkey boy must be losing a step," said Zack Taylor, the black ranger. "Normally he'd have damaged the Megazord more than this."

Jason had been thinking the same thing. Goldar was a normally fierce opponent, but this time he seemed to be pulling his punches, with the only really damaging attack being a slash to the robotic warrior's left leg connector which left an opening in the armor. Jason couldn't understand why, but he tried to push the thought out of his mind as he focused on the battle.

"We need the Power Sword!" he shouted. Seconds later, the blade dropped from the sky and into the Megazord's right hand.

"Trini, hit him hard," Jason commanded.

"Trini Kwan, the yellow ranger, nodded her head. "You've got it!"

The Power Sword slashed Goldar twice across the chest, knocking him to the ground. He got up and glared at the Rangers, hatred etched in the lines on his face.

"I concede to you this time, Power Rangers, but I won't be defeated next time we meet."

And in a flash of light, Goldar was gone.

The Rangers exchanged their customary high fives and victory cheers-all but Jason.

"Hey fearless leader, why so down?" asked Kimberly Hart, the pink ranger. "We won. You should be glad."

"Yeah…." said Jason, who still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Still, he hid his thoughts as he turned to the others.

"Great work guys. Let's get to the command center and inform Zordon of the outcome."

None of them noticed as a small, orb shaped probe glided slowly out of the gash in the Megazord's armor and vanished.

The probe rematerialized in Finster's workshop, setting itself on his worktable with a soft clinking sound.

"Excellent," the monster maker said to himself as he regarded the device. "The plan worked perfectly."

Goldar, who was standing against a nearby wall, growled softly.

"I'd like to know what this plan of yours is," he said. "I just picked a fight with those do-gooders for it; it had better be worth it."

"Yes, Finster, what is your plan?" Rita Repulsa, evil queen and the Rangers' arch nemesis, glowered at her henchman as he shrank from her slightly. "Why _did_ I just send one of my chief warriors down to Earth to battle those costumed creeps? And you'd better have a good reason!"

Finster regained his composure as he reached for a small viewing device on the table next to him. He held it up as he spoke, pleased with his latest venture.

"See for yourself, my queen," he said as the screen flickered to life.

The picture that greeted Rita's eyes was surprising: seven robots, in the form of prehistoric creatures, stood immobile in a massive hangar. The machines were entirely black, so much so that they nearly disappeared in the darkness of the massive chamber.

Rita recognized them immediately, and was completely bewildered.

"The Dinozords?" she screeched at Finster. "What are they doing here?"

Finster chuckled. "It's not really the Dinozords, empress….merely duplicates. I thought the best way to destroy the rangers is to give them a taste of their own medicine. I've built them using this probe"-he tapped the metal orb on the worktable-"which has been collecting data on the external details of the zords."

Goldar growled. "What does this have to do with me? Why did I have to go to Earth?"

"Well," said Finster, "I had the outer details, but in order to get the info on the Zords' inner workings, I needed to send the probe inside one. With the info obtained from your battle today, I can begin final preparations on the construction. I'm going to use the plans to create a new, anti-matter based power source that will crush them for good."

He turned to Rita. "What do you think, my queen?"

At first, Rita didn't react. But the loud, raucous cackle that issued forth from her mouth seconds later gave Finster his answer.


	2. First Strike

Three months later, the rangers were gathered at the Angel Grove Youth Center, enjoying the pleasures of a three day weekend. Billy, Kimberly, Trini, and Zack sat at a table, enjoying some of Ernie's drinks as they watched Jason spar with the sixth member of their team: Tommy Oliver, the green ranger.

Their practice session, while intense as usual, seemed very one sided. Tommy was being knocked down more often than Jason; in fact, he'd only managed to knock Jason down twice, something that wasn't lost on the other teen.

"Tommy, you're off your form today," Jason said as he helped his friend to his feet. "Are you ok, man?"

"Yeah," said Tommy as he assumed his fighting stance. "Just got some things on my mind….Appleby's homework assignment is pretty tough, plus my training…."

"Maybe we should stop for now," Jason remarked as he reached for the towel in his bag. "It would be better to do this when you're able to focus more easily"

"Yeah," said Tommy. "Maybe you're right."

_I'm glad Jason didn't press me further, _he thought to himself. _I don't think I could stand to tell him what I'm really thinking…_

They walked back to their table, taking seats between Kim and Zack. Kim placed her hand on Tommy's arm, a concerned expression on her face.

"Are you sure you're ok? I've never known you to be so distracted during a sparring session."

"I'm fine," said Tommy. "I just need a little rest, that's all."

"Ok," said Kim. "Just as long as you're fine."

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something.

"Finster, I've been waiting three months! Are my Zords ready yet?"

Rita stood face to face with her chief monster maker, her wand pressed hard against his chest. She didn't say anything more, but the message was clear: _I want results **NOW**!_

"Your wait is over, my queen. The zords are now complete and the core five are fully operational. The Dragonzord and Titanus still need to finish charging, but they should be finished in a few days."

"Excellent," cackled Rita. "And how will they be controlled?"

"From inside their cockpits, just like the real Dinozords," replied Finster. "Each of us will control a Zord: Goldar in the Tyrannosaurus, Scorpina in the Pterodactyl, Squatt in the Triceratops, Baboo in the Saber-Toothed Tiger, and myself in the Mastodon.

"And for me?" asked Rita.

"The Dragonzord, my queen. You will be able to control it with your staff once it's ready."

"A fitting zord for me," Rita replied with a grin. She turned to Goldar, who was leaning against the wall, sword in hand.

"I believe a little test drive is in order," she said. "Get to your Zord and smash up Angel Grove. You know what to do if the Power Rangers show up…."

A loud explosion and violent tremor shook the business district of Angel Grove as Goldar, in his Tyrannosaurus, landed hard in the city streets. The gleaming black armor, accented with gold, seemed to absorb the light around it. Its head turned to its right, then left, taking in its surroundings.

Then, with a swing of its steel tail, it took out the building directly behind it,

Alarms sounded and people screamed as Goldar worked the controls, smashing buildings with head, tail, and claws. He laughed with sadistic glee as he carried on his destructive rampage.

"Power Rangers, you're about to meet your end!"

Their drinks finished, the six teens prepared to leave the Youth Center. Before they could leave their seats, the lights flickered, followed by the now familiar sound of the city's monster alarm.

Jason turned to Tommy. "So much for resting," he said.

As if on cue, they heard the sound of their communicators. After checking to make sure no one was watching, they stepped into the hall, where Jason lifted his left wrist and pressed the button on the device strapped to it.

"Jason here, Zordon. What is it?"

"Rangers, teleport to the command center," said the echoing voice on the other end. "We have a grave emergency on our hands."

"Right away." The six rangers pressed the teleport button on their communicators, and disappeared in six multi-colored beams of light.

As they zoomed through the air, Tommy found himself lost in his own thoughts.

_I'll probably be made to stay behind in the command center again, _he thought to himself. _They haven't needed my help recently…maybe they don't need it at all anymore…_


	3. Round 1

Chapter 3: Round 1

The six teens materialized in the central chamber of the command center, their feet touching the floor as the remaining energy from the teleportation quickly dissipated. Zordon, the rangers' mentor, looked down at them from above their heads as his robot assistant Alpha 5 frantically moved among the various consoles.

"What's happening, Zordon?" said Jason. "That brown-out seemed less than nomal."

"Your assumption is correct," Zordon confirmed in his booming voice. "The power failure was, in fact, Rita's doing. Or rather, her henchman Goldar's. Observe the viewing globe."

The rangers turned as one to regard the large glass orb that was showing them the events happening in the business district. Everyone, particularly Jason, was stunned to see the Tyrannosaurus clone tearing up the city.

"That's impossible," said Jason in utter shock. "My zord can't be doing all this!"

"The zord you see in those images is not the real thing. It is merely a duplicate created by Finster. It's been sticking mostly to physical attacks, so the full extent of its abilities is not known. It should be safe to assume, however, that it at least has the same abilities as the genuine article."

Jason turned to Zordon. "Rita's gone too far this time. Destroying the city is bad enough, but using a zord clone-it's as if she's mocking us!"

He turned back to viewing globe and the rest of the team, hands balled up in fists. "I'm going to take him on myself. This is personal."

Zordon's voice was filled with concern. "I don't believe that to be a wise course of action. However, if you feel that strongly about it, I won't try to stop you. Still, I insist that the others accompany you to the battlefield in case you need their help. We have no way of completely knowing what that machine is capable of."

"Ok Zordon," Jason replied. He turned to his friends. "Let's hurry while there's still time."

Tommy knew what Zordon was going to say before he spoke next.

"Tommy, you must stay here for the time being. Until we know what the duplicate zord is fully capable of, I cannot send you into battle and risk having your powers fail."

Tommy, hiding his true feelings on the matter, said "I understand, Zordon. You're just trying to keep me out of serious danger."

Zordon understood Tommy was less than happy, but knew there was no time to discuss it. He looked at the other five. "There is no time for delays. Morph and head for the business district immediately."

"You've got it Zordon", said Jason. He and his teammates stood side-by side. "It's morphin time!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

"Be careful and good luck," said Zordon. "May the power protect you."

As his friends teleported out in a flash of colored light, Tommy sighed. _Another battle without me, _he thought.

The rangers materialized on a rooftop 3 blocks away from the site of the attack. The form of Goldar's zord loomed above the skyline like a metallic demon.

"No time to waste," said Jason. "Tyrannosaurus Dinozord power!"

Just outside town, a large fissure opened up in an empty field. With a loud roar, the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord rose from the smoke and flame filled pit, and within moments was in range of the mass of skyscrapers. Jason quickly leaped into the cockpit and removed his power coin from his morpher, transforming it with a quick motion of his hand into his power crystal.

"Ok old friend," said the red ranger, "let's send your evil twin to the junkyard."

The Tyrannosaurus marched with thundering footsteps toward its doppleganger, which was so busy destroying buildings it didn't notice as the real thing stopped behind it and swung its tail. Goldar jerked forward in his command seat as he turned the zord around to face his rival.

_Right on schedule, _he thought as he pressed a button on his control console. A smirk crossed his face as he slashed at Jason's zord with his own machine's steel claws. Sparks danced and flew as the Tyrannosaurus stumbled backward. It regained its footing, then followed up with a burst of electrical energy from its eyes. The blasts hit the dark-armored clone, knocking it off-balance and to the ground. The Tyrannosaurus kicked at the downed fake, but before it could land another blow a laser bolt slammed into it from the left side.

"What was that?" Jason said. He turned in the direction the shots had come from and spotted the Triceratops Dinozord speeding toward him-only it was black and gold like the robot under his zord's foot. Before he could react to this new development, energy attacks from his right and from above struck him simultaneously, knocking him to the ground. He watched as duplicates of the Saber-Tooth Tiger and Pterodactyl formed a semi-circle along with the other two, the evil Tyrannosaurus having gotten off the ground. The circle became whole as the evil Mastodon clone plodded up behind Jason. Finster, who sat in its control seat, prepared to attack, his hands hovering over the control panel.

"Shall I give him the cold-shoulder, Goldar?" he asked, his fingers flexing.

"Not yet," replied Goldar. "Squatt, pull him to his feet."

Squatt, in the Triceratops, chuckled as he launched its chain-mounted horns around Jason's zord. Its engines roared as it backed up, raising the stricken Tyrannosaurus off the ground.

"Upsie-daisy," he said as he worked the control panel, thoroughly enjoying himself. Baboo, in the Saber-Tooth Tiger, and Scorpina, above in the Pterodactyl, smiled evil grins as their hated enemy stood bound and helpless.

"Now Finster!" yelled Goldar. "Freeze him solid!"

All to happy to comply, Finster pressed a button on his control panel, and a burst of super cooled ice surrounded the Tyrannosaurus. In seconds, its body was covered in ice.

Jason raised his left arm and activated his communicator, "Guys, I'm in over my head here! I need your help!"

Zack responded. "Hang in there, Jase! We'll be right there!"

Wasting no time, the other rangers raised their arms and shouted, "We need Dinozord power, now!"

Immediately, their zords responded and emerged from their respective hiding spots:

The Mastodon, from the depths of an icy tundra.

The Triceratops, from deep in the barren desert.

The Saber-Tooth Tiger, from the heart of a steamy jungle.

The Pterodactyl, from inside a fiery volcano.

The rangers leapt into their zords and sped toward their comrade, energy blasts preventing Rita's crew from advancing any further. As they reached Jason's side, Trini aimed her cannon at his zord.

"Hold on, I'm going to melt the ice!" she said. A moment later, a low powered, yet strong, beam of energy hit the Tyrannosaurus, bathing it in golden light. The ice melted quickly, and soon both teams of zords were facing each other.

"We can't afford to take chances, team," said Jason. "Let's show these wanna-be's some Megazord power!"

Goldar, in his Tyrannosaurus, looked as the rangers began to initiate the Megazord transformation sequence. He glanced at his fellow villains and said, "So they think to upstage us, do they? Well, not this time. Begin Dark Megazord transformation!"

At once, both teams of zords began to merge together. Triceratops and Saber-Tooth Tigers became legs and themselves to the Tyrannosaurus' knee joints; Mastodons attached to the backs and formed shoulder, fists, and arms as the titanic machines began to stand upright; Pterodactyls flew in and formed chestplates as panels folded forward to allow the heads of the Tyrannosauruses to lower into secret compartments, then back into place as the chestplates locked into position. Finally, two pairs of horns folded forward and locked themselves to the sides of two heads.

Two Megazords now stood facing each other-one multi-colored, the other black and gold. The two machines stood unmoving, waiting for the other to make a move.

"Steady, Power Rangers," said Jason as they observed their enemies standing opposite them. "I have a feeling we're in for a long battle."


End file.
